BYU vs. New Mexico: Game Notes & Quotes

Player Notes

- Jimmer Fredette opened the game shooting 4-of-5 from the field for 10 points in the first 3 minutes of play.

- Fredette went on to score 33 points in the first half, giving the All-American his third career 30-point half. His previous 30-point halves came at Utah earlier this season and last season in the MWC tournament against TCU.

- Jackson Emery finished the first half with 4 assists and no turnovers. In the second half he tied his season-high 5 assists, which he had previously reached four times this season.

- Fredette’s 52 points in the game gave the senior guard his 6th career 40 plus-point game and his first career 50-point game. It was also Fredette’s 20th game scoring 30 or more points.

- Kyle Collinsworth led the team in rebounds with 9 boards on the night. The freshman also added 11 points.

- Charles Abouo added 7 rebounds and 2 steals before fouling out with less than a minute to play.

Team Notes

- Both the Cougars and Lobos shot over 51 percent from the field in the first half with BYU shooting 51.3 and the Lobos shooting 53.1.

- BYU committed just 2 turnovers in the first half and finished with 6. The last time the Cougars had 6 or fewer turnovers this season was at Utah on Jan. 11.

- The Cougars will advance to the MWC tournament final for the first time since 2008.

Record Watch

- On an and-one basket with 4:25 remaining, Fredette broke the BYU career all-time scoring record with 2,468 points. The 30-year-old record was set by Danny Ainge who played for the Cougars from 1977-1981. The free throw after allowed Fredette to reach the 50-point mark for the first time in his career. Fredette now has 2,471-career points

- Fredette’s 33 points set a BYU record for points in a half as well as a Thomas and Mack Center record for points in a half. His previous record was 32, set earlier this season in the first half at Utah.

- Fredette set a BYU and MWC Tournament single game scoring record with 52 points.

- Fredette set a career points record in the MWC tournament with 215.

- His 76 points in the tournament this season break the previous tournament record of 75, set by Fredette last season.

- In the first half, Fredette set a MWC tournament record for points in a semi-final game.

- Jackson Emery broke his own previous record for steals in a season. The senior finished the game with 5 steals to give him 93 steals this season. The previous record was set by Emery last season when he recorded 91 season steals.

- Emery became the 2nd winningest player in BYU history with his 104th career victory.

- Fredette’s 7 three-pointers gave the Glens Falls native the second most 3-point field goals made in MWC history with 282, trailing Nick Jacobsen who hit 287 while playing for Utah from 2000-04.

Game Trends

- BYU took an early 10-5 lead over the Lobos with all 10 points coming from Fredette.

- The Lobos took their first lead of the night at the 14:05 mark in the first half with the score 15-14.

- The score was back and forth for much of the first half but the Cougars entered the break with a 47-42 lead.

Postgame Quotes

Coach Dave Rose

"I thought it was a great college basketball game between two teams that knew there was a lot on the line. Both competed really well and I was really proud of our players. I thought that from the opening tip to the last rebound we were all playing together and we were playing hard. I was just really, really proud of how our players competed in this game."

"Jimmer had one of those real special offensive nights that kind of kept a lot of energy with our team. But you watch it, it's amazing how you can have a team win, as big a team win as this is with one player scoring 52 points. The steals by Jackson Emery, the rebounds by Kyle, the toughness from Noah Hartsock, Charles Abouo, filling up the stat sheet like they did, it's a great team win and we look forward to tomorrow night."

Jimmer Fredette

"It was just a great night. It was a fun matchup to be against them. They've had our number for the past four games and sometimes teams do that. We were just looking forward to playing them again."

"We knew that we could play better than what we did in Provo. Our minds weren't quite right and everything. But we felt that if we gave a good effort tonight, we would have a chance to win. That's kind of what happened."

Kyle Collinsworth

"Both teams played really hard for 40 minutes and we were fortunate enough to be able to grind out a win for our team."

"As far as offense goes, like Jimmer said, we try to space the floor. When he shoots, we crash the offensive board and it gives our team another opportunity to score. We just try to get rebounds, make steals for our team and play as a team."